A Business Communication Module for an MBA Managerial Accounting Course: A Teaching Note

Abstract

This Teaching Note describes a two-hour-and-40-minute Business Communication module developed and used by the author over the past six years in an MBA Managerial Accounting course at a university in the USA. The module has two modest but important goals: to sensitize graduate accounting students to the importance of communication skills for professional success; and to provide students with a set of writing-improvement resources. The students' component of the module consists of a set of five readings and two learning resources. For teachers, a comprehensive set of PowerPoint slides is available from the author. The module is flexible in two respects: it can be used in graduate-level accounting courses other than Managerial Accounting; and a reduced version of in-class presentation time is possible by using only a sub-set of the PowerPoint slides, based on teacher preferences. Student responses to the module have been consistently positive and have supported continued use of the module into the future.

Key Words:

• Business communication
• writing and accounting
• MBA-level accounting
• writing skills
• instructional/teaching resource

Acknowledgements

The author thanks the guest editors (F. Elizabeth Gray and Lynn Hamilton) and the reviewers for their helpful (and supportive) comments, which improved both the content and flow of this manuscript. My special thanks, too, to Professor Joe DaCrema for our many chats, for his patience with me as I gained a renewed appreciation for the value of business communication skills, and for our earlier collaborations.

Notes

1 These slides are available on request from the author.

2 The Pathways Commission on Accounting Higher Education (www.pathwayscommission.org) was created by the American Accounting Association (AAA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) in the USA to study the future structure of higher education for the accounting profession.

3 The author reviewed writing-related articles published the past five years in Accounting Education: an international journal, Issues in Accounting Education, and the Journal of Accounting Education.

4 In Exhibit 1 (p. 397) the authors present what they call ‘Minimum Writing Rules’, a handout which they provide to students at the beginning of the semester. These ‘writing rules’ are similar to those covered in my in-class presentation, either in the PowerPoint slides themselves or in the two learning resource files provided to students.

5 The authors report (p. 258) that they chose this set of five writing competencies to address writing-related problems that they had observed in their accounting students over many years. Specific problem areas identified by the authors include: verb/subject agreement; confusion over the use of definite and indefinite articles, possessive case, and singular versus plural nouns; poor spelling; inattention to structure, argument development, and paragraphing; and the use of inappropriate or imprecise words. The items in my own presentation cover many of the same topics as those listed by Craig and McKinney (2010).

6 Papers in this regard include: Stout and Wygal (1989), Stout and Hoff (1989/90), Stout, Wygal and Hoff (1990), Stout, Sumutka and Wygal (1991), Stout and DaCrema (2004), and Stout and DaCrema (2005).

7 During the three-year term of my editorship, Joe DaCrema, who had recently retired as an English professor from Villanova University, served as my administrative assistant. This close association rekindled my interest in the area of communication skills and accounting education. As indicated by the acknowledgement included at the end of this paper, I am very grateful to Professor DaCrema for his valuable insights, guidance, and motivation.

8 An additional resource that can be used as a resource/handout to students – in particular, accounting students – is the article by Danziger (1997).

9 These slides present various grammatical errors and corrections. As noted by an anonymous reviewer, ‘teaching students by showing them slide after slide of all the mistakes they can make is not conducive to helping them learn to write well’. That reviewer points to Elbow (1998) and the work of Rose cited therein. The main argument here, as encapsulated by Elbow (1998, p. xix), is that ‘getting rid of badness (in writing) doesn't lead to excellence’. Thus, a cautionary note needs to be raised in terms of the pedagogical practice embodied in the supplementary set of PowerPoint slides. The author maintains, however, that within the context in which he has used these slides, they have been well received by students. Further, this approach is, to varying degrees, used in popular writing handbooks (e.g. Alred, Brusaw and Oliu, 2000; Hult and Huckin, 2008). A recent book by Yagoda (2013), an obvious counter view to Zinsser (2006), provides support for this pedagogical approach. Yagoda's primary message is the need to teach individuals how not to write bad (or badly) and that the practice of ‘directing students to the appropriate entry in the book [ … ] may actually help them learn what they are doing wrong and how to address the issue’ (p. 4).

10 On occasion, I use Gallo (2006) as a means for allaying student fears regarding the process (or ‘journey’) of developing communication skills, including presentation skills. After going through this assigned reading quickly, I ask students for honest feedback regarding my own presentation that evening. The goal is to reinforce in the minds of students that all of us make mistakes. Put another way, this is an attempt on my part to better connect with the students and to put a ‘human face’ on the presentation.

11 Completed questionnaires are collected each term by the instructor's graduate assistant and returned to the instructor after the conclusion of the semester.

12 The evidence presented in Table 3 is indirect in the sense that it reflects student perceptions, not actual performance.

13 Note that the items included in Appendix B cover issues beyond the topic of faulty modifiers. These additional issues are addressed in the two hand-out resources made available to students. Also, several of the writing-related issues addressed in Appendix B are covered in the set of supplementary PowerPoint slides referred to in Section 4.

14 The following ranking results can be conveyed to students: 2003 – Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania; Dartmouth College; University of Michigan; and Northwestern University; 2004 – University of Michigan; Carnegie Mellon University; Dartmouth College; Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania; 2005 – Dartmouth College; University of Michigan; Carnegie Mellon University; and Northwestern University; 2006 – University of Michigan; Dartmouth College; Carnegie Mellon University; and Columbia University; 2007 – Dartmouth College; University of California, Berkeley; Columbia University; and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

15 Frecka and Reckers (2010) surveyed practising auditors (n > 500) regarding the relevance of knowledge and skills needed in practice. In terms of required skills, ‘high importance was attached to five (of the seven listed) skills, with critical thinking and problem analysis topping the list [ … ] followed closely by report writing and written communication’ (p. 224). In terms of which of 21 listed knowledge and skills areas respondents thought should receive increased attention in the curriculum, ‘report writing/written communication skills’ garnered the number one spot.

16 Bui and Porter (2010) provide survey results from students, employers, and accounting faculty members from a single university in New Zealand regarding the skills that accounting graduates should possess. All of the employer interviewees considered communication skills (oral, written, and interpersonal) to be essential (emphasis added). Chaffey, Van Peursem and Low (2011, p. 165) provide survey evidence – obtained from 130 practicing auditors in New Zealand – that ‘the most preferred and agreed (audit) skill is [ … ] communication (ability)’. Even among (additional) ‘disciplinary knowledge to which future auditors should be exposed’, communication placed second – out of eight areas – in terms of perceived importance (p. 172). Finally, Crawford, Helliar and Monk (2011, p. 116) present survey responses from 124 UK academics and 321 practising chartered accountants regarding the importance of ‘16 generic skills that may be important to the accounting and auditing profession’. Academic respondents indicated that analytical skills and written communication skills are the most important generic skills. Practitioner respondents ‘thought that all 16 skills were important, but a ranking of their importance showed that analytical skills, presentation skills, and written communication skills were the most important’ (p. 129).

17 Dangling modifiers can be thought of as ‘would-be’ modifiers in the sense that they don't technically modify anything in a sentence. ‘Passing the building, the vandalism became visible’ and ‘Although intact, graffiti covered every inch of walls and windows’ are examples. By contrast a misplaced modifier falls in the wrong place in a sentence. ‘He served steak to the men on paper plates’ and ‘According to police, many dogs are killed by automobiles and trucks roaming unleashed’ are examples.

18 A supplemental PowerPoint file containing additional examples, most taken from recent issues of the Wall Street Journal, is available, on request, from the author.